Public Safety
Massachusetts Governor Says Safety Funds Won’t be Tied to MBTA Communities Compliance
Gov. Healey faced backlash for requiring local fire departments to confirm compliance with the zoning law to receive state funds.
German Cities Subsidize Taxis for Women Amid Wave of Violence
Free or low-cost taxi rides can help women navigate cities more safely, but critics say the programs don't address the root causes of violence against women.
Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.
Crime Continues to Drop on Philly, San Francisco Transit Systems
SEPTA and BART both saw significant declines in violent crime in the first quarter of 2025.
The Resurgence of Drive-Throughs
Dining areas in many fast food restaurants are being replaced with added drive-thru lanes, another post-pandemic impact on our lives benefiting those with four wheels (or more).
Study: How To Make Transit Safer
A new report recommends boosting ‘ambassador programs,’ improving reliability and frequency, and supporting more anti-harassment initiatives.
California Grounds Cruise Autonomous Fleet
In the wake of serious pedestrian injuries and a federal investigation, state agencies have barred the driverless taxi company from continuing to operate.
Sioux Falls Downtown Plan Targets Mobility, Safety, Community
The South Dakota city is taking public input on its proposal for improving transportation, job opportunities, and culture downtown.
Louisiana Town Sets Permanent Curfew for Walking and Biking
Public perceptions about noise and drugs have led the city of Kaplan in Louisiana to prohibit walking and biking at night.
A Child’s Eye View of the City
A new VR tool invites urban planners to viscerally understand how a small child experiences the urban realm—with less-than-ideal results.
Seattle Downtown Plan Focuses on Public Safety, Programming
The mayor issued a 12-point plan for improving safety, developing services for people struggling with addiction, and revitalizing downtown spaces.
Report: American Downtowns Safer Than You Think
A Brookings Institution study reveals that crime rates in major cities have risen, but downtown districts account for a negligible part of the growth.
Memphis: Crime-fighting Camera Sheds Light on Police Abuse
The irony is unmistakable. Public surveillance cameras, long controversial in the criminal justice community, provided pivotal video footage of the beating of motorist Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers at a traffic stop on January 7.
Breaking the Bias on Public Transport
How gender-sensitive data collection can make public transit safer for women.
Activating L.A.’s Transit Stations
Advocates say encouraging community events, vendors, and activity at transit stations can improve public safety without increasing the presence of law enforcement.
Infrastructure Investment for Public Safety: Lessons from Medellín
A natural experiment in Medellín indicates that infrastructural investments can reduce crime and improve perceptions of public safety.
Police Don't Make Transit Safer, Report Says
TransitCenter's "Safety for All" report provides a counterargument to the "send more police" response to public safety concerns on public transit systems.
MTA Spending Millions on Cleaning, but Disagreement Over the Need
Deep cleaning of the New York City subway and bus system is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s coronavirus response. But it is costly and time consuming, and the public health benefits are not entirely clear.
How New York City Subways Prevent Viral Spread, Illustrated
Detailed animations of ventilation systems in New York City subway cars provide transit riders with a better understanding of the possibility of community spread in subway cars.
Floridians File Lawsuit to Protect Jacksonville from the GOP
A public nuisance lawsuit filed July 8 aims to ensure that an unsafe indoor mass gathering like President Trump held in Tulsa last month, which reportedly led to coronavirus infections, does not occur during the Republican National Convention.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
